


Beach Day Shenanigans

by OneSmartChicken



Series: Claire Dearing: Raptor Wrangler and the adventures therein [2]
Category: Jurassic World (2015)
Genre: F/M, I-rex redemption, M/M, Multi, unrepentent fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-13
Updated: 2016-08-13
Packaged: 2018-08-08 14:34:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7761667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OneSmartChicken/pseuds/OneSmartChicken
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Girls Vs Water</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beach Day Shenanigans

**Author's Note:**

> 9/27/16 Update: I just noticed this wasn't part of the series. How????? Unfortunately editting it means I have to go an erase the extra space between each paragraph. But I'm going to. Because I care.
> 
> ...
> 
>  
> 
> So I wasn't planning on posting this yet, really, because I don't want anyone thinking this silly series is going to get regular additions, but I realized I had this little silliness basically complete, and I'm having a crappy day so, hey, you guys get some cute raptor stuff.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who kudos/comments/just fucking clicks this silly thing. Because of a CERTAIN COMMENTER you have at least one very, very silly ficlet to look forward to that may or may not involve Owen in heels. If anyone has any ideas for how to tag this better, I'm always open to suggestions because I am honestly the worst at tagging. Also yes, I am still hoping to have a ficlet with Zach and Gray, because they really do exist in this universe I swear, I just happened to have this typed up first. Whaddya gonna do.

When Blue was seven months old, and her sisters all about six months, and Claire and Barry were comfortable enough with each other to consider hijinks, there was a very important day of rule breaking. This day was called fondly, _Beach Day._

Claire put on a bathing suit (and cackled at Barry's obvious disappointment that it was a rather unflattering one-piece designed to look like a jumper) and Barry put on trunks (and posed a few times while Claire took imaginary pictures with an imaginary camera) and they bought little floaties from the tourist trap store, taking advantage of their employee discount. Then they loaded the girls up in Barry's jeep, minus Charlie who had caught the "cricket" (a tiny launching cat toy that was now very dead) and won the seat of honor; on the bike with Claire. They drove out past the restricted signs, past the warning signs, past all the signs that almost unfailingly deterred all but the most annoying tourists.

Then they parked, gathered up all the bags, gave the "follow close" command, and started into the thick jungle. The girls didn't quite glue themselves to their legs, like they'd dreamed of, but they didn't go more than a few meters away, which was about what they'd expected and hoped for. Blue showed off why she was boss by corralling her little sisters when they got too far, and otherwise stayed right by Claire's side. If Blue and the girls had been dogs or some other domestic animal, Claire would probably have put them in shows and sports, knowing that they would both win and enjoy themselves. Blue in particular exhibited the ideal traits of a performance partner; not strictly obedient but instead happily _willing_.

Alas, there was no "best in breed" shows for raptors, let alone flyball or frisbee. Surprisingly, really.

They took the girls through a deceptively dark part of the jungle, where the shadows concealed only how easy it was to traverse. It was a much beloved open secret amongst the island workers, and it was impossible to go there without encountering a few coworkers.

Impossible, unless you could time your trip when no one would be on break, at least not a break long enough to warrant a trip all the way out to the secret beach. Barry and Claire didn't have set hours since their job descriptions were currently basically “try to keep the baby raptors not-dead,” so that was exactly what they did.

Living on an island, the sound of the ocean was practically a constant, but when the crash of waves got loud, Claire called for a break.

“Aaah, no fair,” Charlie voiced plaintively.

"I know, pretties," she laughed, sitting down in the dirt as her girls flocked to her, complaining that they weren't nearly tired yet. "It'll only take a minute. Line up for Mommy, girls." One by one, she managed to affix floaties to the babies, trying to get them set so that, if the floats were needed, they'd buoy the babies’ heads above water. The pack babbled questions and complaints, which Claire soothed away without really answering their questions. Blue gave her the famous "you're up to something, but I'll allow it" look, earning herself an extra kiss.

To set a good example, she put token floaties on her own arms and, just for fun, on Barry's ankles. It turned out to be a good thing too, since it gave her the opportunity to teach them that the floats were a "no-bite, no-claw" material.

The girls had seen water before, of course. They'd even seen the ocean from Claire's trailer (which she was starting to call the Bungalow, thanks to Barry's persistence in trash-talking her home) but they'd never seen water like _this._

Kissing Crustaceans Cove was better known as just _the cove._ Or sometimes "Crusty Kisses Beach," poking fun of all the idiots who used it as a make-out spot and got sand in places sand should not go. It was a circle dipped away from the ocean, attached but contained. There was about two feet of shallow water all around in a semi-gradual descent from the shoreline, then a sudden drop to several meters. The sand was sugar white and flour powdery, and the water was a perfect Caribbean crystal clear. The cove was deep enough for a mini, semi-contained ecosystem, a thriving, improbable coral reef at its depths. Colorful fish swarmed, scattered, swarmed, and occasionally a turtle would come by. There was always crabs everywhere, as the name suggested, and the sand was dotted with their homes. The mangroves weren’t controlled, obviously, but they left a surprising amount of beach space available, apparently uninterested in the heavily shaded shore.

The sight never failed to take her breath away, just a little. Framed by drapes of vine-drooped trees, positioned to perfectly frame the sunset, it looked like a photoshopped picture in National Geographic, or Travel Guide.

Blue squealed indignantly as the water splashed peaceably in front of her. Charlie had already run forward, plunging fearlessly into the water with an eager shriek. The older girls paced anxiously around the water, hissing at it for daring to lap at their toes. Charlie attacked the waves, chomping at them. Barry got out his phone and just stood back to record. Claire shot him a look, but left him to it. Barry was totally a camcorder dad.

Delta started chasing crabs, which was only surprising in that she had first taken the time to look at the water at least once.

She strode into the water, leaning down to scratch at Charlie's brow ridge in reward for being brave. Blue croaked, offended, and followed at her heels.

"Cold!" she exclaimed, then insulted the water for splashing her. Delta and Echo, not to be beat, rushed in after them, hooting and honking, abandoning the crabs for the moment in order not to be left behind. They all splashed around for a while, none of them daring the drop-off just yet.

"Mom, Mom!" Blue called, trotting at her urgently. "Taking off!" She thrashed her tail, reaching up to nudge at the floaties. She didn't claw at them though, which was good. Claire loved when training worked. Blue maybe had a point though. She looked around at the girls, catching when Echo tried to swim only to get thrown off by the floaties, backpedaling quickly to shallower water with an unhappy croak.

"Alright," she decided, crouching down. "But stay in the shallows for now; I don't know if raptors are supposed to swim."

Apparently, whether or not they were supposed to, raptors were pretty great at swimming. All the floaties got thrown on the beach to be picked up later, and Barry put down his phone to join them. They splashed around, and dove, and Delta caught a fish, which meant _everyone_ had to catch a fish too.

It probably wasn’t great for the little reef, but the girls couldn't dive very deep, and they didn't catch _that_ many fish. The ecosystem would recover from one little raptor field trip.

So when Star and Angel were six months old (and already bigger than their older sisters) Claire burst into the paddock in a newly bought yellow polka dot bikini and shouted, "Beach day!" the raptors jumped around, squawking and chattering like babies again, as the I-rexes chittered curiously. Claire grabbed Angel's head, planting a kiss on her nose, then repeated the motion with Star. They both churred at her, eyes slitted with pleasure. They were suckers for any affection, and Claire shamelessly loved it.

“Hi Mom,” Angel cooed, nuzzling her in return for the kiss.

“What’s Beach Day?” Star demanded, but ducked her head for an extra scritch.

"You two are too big for the cove, I'm afraid," she told them. Blue groaned in disappointment, echoed by Charlie. Claire grinned at them. Honestly, she was kind of surprised they remember the cove; it had only been the once, and they had been fairly young. But from the look of it, they remembered it, and remembered it fondly. "You're _all_ too big for the cove,” she said, laughing at how put-out this made them look. She held up a hand to forestall protests, and gave herself a little build-up, silent drum roll before continuing.

“Buuut—” she drew out, swaying with the force of her good cheer—“your papa is pretty awesome! Come on, kids. Round up. We're taking the truck!" “The truck” was a big, glorified box truck used for transporting really big dinosaurs. It would be too small for more than one grown I-rex, but was big enough for all the girls for now, and Claire had used it enough time for fun trips that it was a positive association, even if most of those fun trips were just driving around the island and letting them smell and see interesting things, and occasionally run around new places after hours.

Angel roared, running towards the loading door, where she barked demands at it, even though she knew perfectly well the door didn’t open itself. Charlie and Echo joined her, having no qualms about acting like babies. Star laughed, throat vibrating with the sound, but didn't run after them, instead following the pack at a more sedate pace. She and Blue were the pack's guards, always looking out for their sisters, even if nothing had ever actually attacked them.

"Okay girls, you know the drill," Claire walked with Star and Blue, clapping her hands for attention. "List them off."

"No fighting!" Delta barked.

"No biting!" Echo added, because Claire was a sucker for reading kiddie books to the girls, and “No Fighting, No Biting” was uniquely relevant.

"Don't rock the boat," Star said proudly. Claire grinned.

"Lay down," Blue added firmly.

"And be calm!" Charlie yipped, with an excited bounce.

"Atta girls!" Claire praised, always sticking to the tried-and-true positive reinforcement even with her talent giving her a leg up. Truck transportation was one of the hardest and most stressful things for all the animals at the park. Most of them needed to be sedated for it, even if their handlers were talented; trucks rarely took them anywhere good, and there was just no reasoning with that mindset once it set in. So Claire was kind of smug that she'd managed to turn that on its head, even if she'd done it by ignoring the fact that the girls weren't supposed to leave their paddock. What was the point of being an animal linguist if you couldn't spoil your girls?

Barry opened the loading door from the outside—the only way it could be opened—grinning at them. Echo immediately darted at him, demanding cuddles.

"Dad! Hi Dad!" she chittered, nuzzling him impatiently. Barry grinned, greeting her back in French, which apparently she understood and spoke, even if she always sounded like she was speaking English to Claire. Mysteries of talents.

"Hi Dad," Delta said, nudging him with her nose, but not getting in Echo's way; everyone knew Dad was Echo's first, and she his, understanding their bond instinctively.

"Hi Dad!" Angel barked, squishing in to headbutt him, gently for her, but he still stumbled a little. Echo hissed at her, stomping, and Angel ducked her head, immediately the very picture of a guilty puppy. "Sorry, Dad."

"It's alright, _mon petit ange,_ " Barry soothed. "You're learning. Would you like to try again?" Being gentle was one of the most important parts of the girls' training, especially the I-rexes. Angel shuffled shyly in place, then nodded. Barry held patiently still while she bumped him again, and was quick with praise for how gentle she was this time.

Star chortled, then her attention darted away, and she shrieked at what she'd noticed before anyone else.

"Papa!" she called, making the Owen noise the girls had made up when they learned Owen couldn't understand them. It didn't sound much like ‘Owen’ _or_ ‘Papa,’ but it was Owen's noise, and it was adorable. Owen trotted around the other side of the truck, putting his phone away as he appeared.

"Hey there, Star," he greeted. Star, despite his resistance to the raptors, was Owen's favorite. Star broke away from Blue and Claire to go nudge at him, silently demanding pets, which he was quick to supply.

Blue snorted, unimpressed by her disorderly sisters, who were all darting between their dad and their papa with happy clicks and squeals.

"I know, you're so mature, and they're all embarrassing," Claire teased, grinning at her girl. Claire didn't admit to having a favorite; she loved all her girls and would fight the world for any of them. But sometimes, she missed when it had been just her and Blue. Blue croaked at her.

"They _are_ , Mom," she insisted, huffy, but didn't hesitate to shove her head against Claire's belly. "Dumb, noisy birds," she complained. Her heart wasn't in it really; much to her consternation, Blue was growing up, outgrowing her suffering-big-sister act. Snickering, Claire looped her arm over Blue's neck, rubbing firmly at her cheek.

"I know, and you're such a good big sister," she cooed, teasing with the truth. Blue was only a month older than Echo and Delta, but her personality made it seem like more. It used to be silly and adorable, and had become sweet. It was nice, to know for sure that the infamous velociraptors could be so caring. Sometimes, Claire dreamed about taking her pack to Isla Nublar and finding the old pack, just to get their side of the story. From drone footage, they knew Blue and the girls were bigger than the ones on Isla Nublar, though Claire didn't know if that was by design or coincidence, although supposedly they were smaller than the original pack. They were intelligent, and with Star and Angel there was no chance of any dinosaur there managing to best then.

Inevitably, logic always kicked in before she could get carried away by her weird, low-survival-probability day dream. Owen and Barry would never let her, she reminded herself whenever she got too close to actually planning the expedition. Barry would smack her head if he even heard her thinking about it, having some theory about being able to smack stupid ideas out of she and Owen's heads.

"Okay, saddle up, girls," Claire called out, releasing Blue. Blue stepped away, shaking herself out, reclaiming her coolness, because heaven forbid her sisters know she liked cuddling Mom too. The other girls broke off from Barry and Owen, circling towards her in response to her whistle. "There's my fine ladies. Alright, come on, into the truck. I'm on ride-along today so say goodbye to Dad and Papa, they'll meet us there." According to the rules, no one was supposed to ride in a truck with an unsedated dinosaur, but they'd bent the rules to allow either her or Barry to ride with their girls. Owen spoiled them, really, but Claire wasn't about to protest preferential treatment for her girls.

"Seeya, kids," Barry called, backing away as the girls started jumping up into the truck. Echo got in first, letting out a proud bark.

"Dibs!" she cried, trotting to the front of the truck to steal the prime spot, ignoring Angel's whine.

"Unfair!" Angel complained. "It's my turn! Mom!" Jeez, Angel gave Claire flashbacks to young Charlie. It wasn't always bad, Charlie was adorable, but that _whiny_ note. Claire had not missed it, when Charlie finally outgrew it, and Angel somehow having the _exact same whiny note_ was just unfair.

"Girls, share," Claire said firmly. "We didn't call race, Echo, so it doesn't count." She clicked her fingers at Echo, who grumbled but budged over so Angel could have the best spot. Claire had never figured out what made it the best spot, it was the same as the rest of the trailer as far as she was concerned, but she didn't question it, largely out of fear that they might explain.

Blue went through the truck, wearing her place as pack second (or third, depending on who you asked; Claire insisted she and Barry were equal in the pack hierarchy as the “parent pair,” but some people and dinosaurs had _opinions_ ) like a mantle as she herded her sisters around, making sure everyone behaved. Claire left her to it, closing up the door and settling on the folded up blanket in the back corner. The truck was basically just a giant horse trailer, which the girls didn't mind, but neither Claire nor Barry cared for sitting on hard, bouncing metal.

Once satisfied that everyone was laying down, _following the rules,_ Blue returned to Claire. She laid down there, in her usual spot between Star and Claire. Blue was the only one never to want the front spot, preferring to sit in the back with Claire or Barry on guard duty. Since starting her mimicry of Blue, Star had dropped out of the race for the front, although she sometimes looked at it longingly. _Raptors_ , Claire concluded wryly. After making sure Blue and Star knew they didn't _have_ to guard, she left them to it. Some animal things were best left to the animals, and Claire had gotten really good at spotting them, especially with her girls.

Blue stayed alert until the truck got going. Once they were steadily rumbling along, she sighed, dropping her head into Claire's lap. Star took this as her signal to relax as well, and laid her own head by Blue's belly. The I-rexes were set to reach “maturity” at two to three years, predicted to max out in size by two and a half, but their personalities were a little harder to predict. Claire and Barry both agreed they might take a few years longer, but there was no arguing that they were getting big quick. They weren't looking forward to when they were too big to ride with the velociraptors, let alone when they were too big to ride with each other. Claire suggested they just walk them when that day came, but Owen so far was a firm _no_ on that. Claire thought they could make a show of it, like how penguins got walked through aquariums sometimes. Except with giant pseudo-dinosaurs that could swallow a grown man whole. She was working on it.

"If we're not going to the cove, where are we going?" Blue asked quietly. The rest of the girls were chatting and watching the world through the slats in the trailer, honking occasionally when they passed a person. Well, most of the girls; Star and Angel had already been lulled to sleep by the sway of the truck.

Claire grinned at her clever girl. "It's a surprise," she told her with a wink. Blue gave her that same old look, and allowed Claire to keep her secrets, trusting that it would be fun.

The girls' barking got loud and frequent, and then petered off as the sound of a crowd slowly surrounded them. They gaped, literally open-mouthed, through the slats, fortunately unseen by the people outside (‘fortunately’ because Claire wouldn’t be able to handle it if pictures of those dumbstruck expressions went viral). Claire's grin grew.

Echo let out a shrill shriek, waking the I-rexes. Charlie squealed, then everyone started barking and calling to the humans, who roared in delight, sounding almost like one, huge, terrifying organism. Blue watched them, unimpressed. She nearly jumped out of her skin when Star let out a thunderous roar, responding to the crowd and hurting everyone’s eardrums in the process. Claire suppressed a laugh at Blue's dark glare. For an essentially reptilian face, Blue’s sure could express a lot of complex things.

They parked in the sand, and the sound of the crowd got a little further away.

"Alright, girls!" Barry shouted outside, smacking the truck. "You ready!?"

"Yesssss!" Echo screamed, jumping up, letting out a shrill noise of excitement she hadn’t made since she was a lot younger.

"Open, open, open!" Charlie chanted, ready to bolt out the door. Claire stood, pinning herself in the corner, ready to jump out. Her girls were good, but it was best not to tempt fate _too_ much.

"Come on out!" Barry called, throwing open the door. Claire slithered out, getting out of the way before the door was even halfway up. Blue jumped out behind her, but no one else did as Blue looked around, despite their nearly palpable excitement. She looked behind the truck, sniffed the air, nudged Claire and Barry cautiously.

"It's alright, baby blue," Claire murmured, surprised by this reaction and feeling silly for being surprised. Blue was _protective_. She trusted Claire implicitly, but she still had her—quirks. "I know it's not the same, but it'll still be fun, right?" Blue thought it over, looking behind the truck again with deep suspicion. Then she chirped a sort of wordless ‘oh fine,’ trotting across the sand and away from the truck. The girls let out whoops, all piling out of the truck as fast as they could, though they did their best not to trample each other. Mostly.

"Hey, people!" Delta bellowed, slowing down to bob her head at the crowd, blocked off behind towering walls of glass that weren't even half as secure as they pretended to be. No one needed to know that though.

"Hi, people!" Charlie barked, bouncing and weaving in place. "Hi! Hi! Hello!" They honked and chirped and ‘waved’, and the crowd _ate it up._ The girls had only had a couple fairly small shows, their real “debut” still technically a few months off, but clearly they were not short on fans.

Okay, that was going to take a while. Claire turned her attention to the others, who had headed straight for the water, their claws leaving deep furrows in the sand. Echo was already in the water, chasing fish that proved far more elusive than the lazy ones from the cove. Blue obviously wanted to join her, but was standing back, watching the nervous I-rexes.

"Go on then," Claire shooed Blue. "Your dad and I have watch." That finally satisfied her. ‘Watch’ was Blue’s sacred duty, one she had taken up by instinct alone, and it had taken a while for Claire to get the knack for relieving her of that duty without making her feel like she was being downgraded. She had gotten better at understanding, as Claire got better at phrasing, and now it was fairly simple, just passing the baton. Blue was the ‘pack second,’ whether or not she was on watch, and not only was she confident in that position, but so was the whole family.

“Beach!” Blue barked once, and shot into the water, kicking it into Echo's face. Charlie and Delta ran over as the splash fight started, but the I-rexes were shuffling nervously together, still unconvinced.

"Well, I guess there's enough cameras going," Barry mused. He threw his shirt into the sand, and dove in after the girls.

"Guess the cat’s out of the bag forever now," Claire mused. She leaned against Angel, rubbing her neck as Star cautiously sniffed the water, and backpedaled, sneezing it back out.

"What's out of the bag, Mom?" Angel asked, watching all her sisters skeptically. Star was inching back towards the water, determined to conquer it.

"Oh not much," Claire hummed, petting Angel's neck. "Just the family secret, I guess. Me and Barry, you girls."

"What secret?" Angel persisted. She lowered her head, delicately nibbling at the strap of Claire's bikini top. Claire pushed her nose away; she really did not want that on video, thank you.

_"We_ are the secret," Claire said with a grin. "Most people are like your papa, you know; they can't understand you. They didn't know we could either, but that's over."

"Is that bad?" Star asked, suddenly there, sniffing fretfully at Claire. She laughed, tickled by the breath on her stomach.

"No," she decided. "It's just different. Come on, don't you want to catch a fish?" And with that, Claire left hiding behind, wading into the water with her girls. The world could fuck off; she was right where she belonged.

As Claire went splashing into the water in her silly little bikini, Angel and Star took the plunge—and shrieked in glee. Barry caught her by the waist, pressing a quick kiss to the corner of her mouth, and beamed at her with sly, laughing eyes.

“How do you like our family?” he asked teasingly, eyes crinkling in that look of utter adoration that made her heart do flip-flops. She hadn’t recognized it until she saw it directed at Owen, which was just another good part of adding Owen to their relationship—not to mention making their relationship _a relationship,_ instead of a cuddly friendship of co-parenting baby dinosaurs.

Owen finally showed up, coming around the truck from making his announcements and whatnots, all those business things Claire was always going to think were kind of stupid, even as she loved watching Owen love them. He wasn’t really dressed for the beach, but slacks and a dress shirt were probably as close as he was willing to get in public.

Claire grinned at him, and he grinned at her, and for a moment, surrounded by happy dinosaurs with her happy boyfriends, Claire felt like she was floating.

“I dunno, Dad,” she said, giving Barry her best doe-eyed look. “Can we have another?”

Barry shoved her into the water. Then he turned and pointed at a speculative looking Owen and said, very firmly, _“Non.”_

Claire came up cackling, and dragged Barry down with her. Then, both soaked, they went and dragged Owen in too.

With several thousand people watching, quite possibly the strangely family on earth had a Beach Day. And it was great.

**Author's Note:**

> So it got a little cheesy at the end there, but yay! Fun times with the girls! And I know the cove is not very logical, but shhh. I liked the image.
> 
> Oh and in case any of you weren't aware, I do art things, so when my internet is not "actually just internet I'm stealing off my neighbor who's wifi is strangely unreliable" you'll probably get some art. Yay art.
> 
> I had more to say but it's thundering so, boop!


End file.
